gibbs



W. A. GIBBS.

TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13, 1916.

1 3 3 3 0 1 6 Patented Mar. 9, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- %IITNESSES I IQIi/ENTOR MDW MM w.. A. GIBBS.

TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I3. 1916.

Patented Mar. 9, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- EM kLbM W. A. GlBBS.

TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. l3, l9l6.

Patented Mar. 9, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 FIE;E.

gi izjw WALTER A. GIBBS, OF CHURCH GREEK, lllAItYLAND.

TR AP.

Application filed April 13,

as to grip the portion oi an in the main trap and to be operated bymovement oi'the main or riinary trap or a portion thereof. Theinventioni" herematter more fully described and cl:

In the accompanying drawing niing a part of this specification, Figures1 and 2- are side elevations and a to plan view respectively, showingcorbined plllllilly and a viliary traps, the l ,1 he l o o. \l by theformer, the traps being set in 2; Figs. 3 and i; are sectional views onplanes, indicated respectively by the nnes iri rri' and IV IV ct Fig.Figs. and 6 show a side elevation and a top plan view illustrating amodification oi the combination shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the traps beingclosed in Fig. 5 and open in Fig. 6. Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation ona plane indicated by the line VII-VII, Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a sideelevation showing a modification of the body mechanism, the trap beingclosed; Fig. 9 is a plan view of the same, the jaws of the primary'trapand the jaws of the auxiliary trap being set or locked in open position;Fi n 10 is a view partly in section. and partly in elevation of the formshown in Fig. 9; Fig. llis a plan view of a further modification of theinvention, the trap being shown open or in operative position; Fig. 12is a sectional view, the primary trap being shown raised fromv normaloperative position for convenience of illustration; Fig. 13 is asectional detail view, illustrating the trigger mechanism 01 the formshown in Figs. 11 and i2; and Fig-'14: is a sectional view on the linerrrv niv, Fig. 13. y

In the practice 01 the invention, two traps are employed, a main orprimary trap being arranged, when in operative position, in suchrelation to the jawsoit' the auxiliary trap thatt-he jaws of the latterwill close Specification of Letters Fatent.

Patented tier. 9, 1920. 1916. Serial No. eassa upon an object caught inthe primary trap. While the main or primary trap may be of any suitableconstruction, it will be gener- Ly 'ireii'erred to employ a trapconsisting of jaws provided at their ends with pintles 2, which aremounted in bearings in h." I 8 at the ends oi? the base l. These aws areadapted to be closed by a suitably ar ranged spring, such for example asthat shown, consisting of a flat piece of spring metal 11, having oneend secured to the base inter iediate the lugs and its opposite endconstructed to engage and shift the jaws l to required position. Thespring is adapted to be locked in operative position. by a latch 12pivotally connected to the free end o1 the spring 11, and adapted whenthe spring in operative position. to be sprung inwardly to a slot 13 inthe base so as to bring its free end in position for engagement with aportion of the treadle 145: when the latter is brought to oper tiveposition. One end of the treadle l l pivotally and slidably mounted onthe spring by means of lugs on the end of an angular extension 16 on oneend. of the spring, the ends of the lugs being bent in under the spring.When the spring will be shifted to operative position and the latchmoved to locking position, the treadle isadjusted to cause the end oithe latch to enter a hole in the treadle. In the construction of trapsheretofore in general use, having a latch enga ing one of the jaws, thelatch is necessarily carriedby an arm arranged at right angles to thebase l, thus preventing any rocking movement oi the trap. It will befound, however, that such rocking or lateral movement of the trap 'isdesirable for the reason that it frequently happens that the animalsfoot or other part of the-body will not bear centrally on the treadlebut at or near one edge, so that one jaw will strike the animal inadvance of the other, and when the trap is so constructed and supportedas to be incapable of a rocking movement, the jaw. first striking theanimal will push the leg or other part of the body toward. the other aw.This movement frequently throws the leg entirely out of the path of theclosing move ment of the jaws. But, by permitting a rocking of the trap,the jaws will meet in planes other than vertical and the trap will beshifted rather than the animal, in its closing movement. This capabilityof rocking or lateral movement of a special advantage where primary andsecondary traps are employed, as herein deserioed and cl for the reasonthat this rocking me oi the primary trap can be utilized for re leasingthe secondary trap.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to l inclusive, the primary trap isso connected to the base 17 of the auxiliary trap as to be capable ofbeing rocked or turned on such base. The auxiliary trap is of the usualor any suitable construction as regards it-sjaws l8 and closing spring19. The auxiliary jaws are locked in open'position by means of rod 20having its inner end connected to the base 4: of the primary p and itsouter end provided with a finger 21, adapted to engage one ofthe jaws 18ot the auxiliary trap when in open position. is is well known to usersof the stvle of primary trap described herein, the closing movement otthe spring causes a jump or movement of.

the trap. and also that the struggle a animal when caught will causeviolent movements. in the use of: the trap (lose: r-il herein, therelease of the jaws the secondary trap follows and is due to the dos ingmovement of the spring of the primary trap. its forexample, in theconstruction shown in 1 to a: the rod 20 is so coir nected to the cr ssbar oi? tii trap that the movements of the la closing spring or byanimal gi its jaws will shift the finger gagement with the jaws of trap.

by its ipperl in 21 out of on- In lieu of controlling the operatio oi?the auxiliary trap by .the movement of the )l'l- .inary trap, due to thestrug li* g of e i mal, when gripped by the la ye .e.

oi the jaws of the auxiii ry tra tested by the inoveinent of p: 1 or herof the primary trap, when sprung the animal. As shown in 5, 6 and therod 20 is mounted on. the cross-bar 2 in. the manner hereinbetoredescribed and provided with a finger 21 for engagi one 0? the aws of theauxiliary trap, but in lieu of connecting the inner end oi? the rod to tie primary trap, it extends'into the path of movement of one of themembers of the primary trap, asthe spring 28',eniplo ,*ed tor shiftingthe jaws of the primary trap. In to 7 is shown a useful construction inwhich the pintles of the jaws are mounted in plates 24rpivotally mountedon lugs 25, secured to the l? of tie any iliary trap. Thus mounting' thejaws l on pivotal support, renders it possible for the jaws to meet inplanes other than vertical. When the jaws are carried by swinging supports, as the plates 24, the spring For shifting, the jaws 1 has one endsecured to one, of the plates and the other end is constructedto shiftand lock the in closed position. As the j aws are so mounted as to becapable oi. rocking on their base, the means heretoiore employed or anyother suitable means may be adapted. for holding the jaws of the primarytrap in open or operative position. for example, in the construction inFigs. 5 to T. a latch 26 is so pivoted to an upward extension 2'? oi thecross arm 22, that it may be turned inwardly over one of the jaws l inwhich p0 sitio-n its free end will be engaged by ii iii:-

ger 28 on :i pivotally mounted trundle .25. in Pi s. 8 to 10 is shown ameans. xerdent oi tlie jaws, for locking the spring the auxiliary trapin operative 1: ion. This lock consists cl? a strip or metal 30, one(Gltl Sl which is int posed between the projecting pintles 31 or thejaws 18 and the upper arm of th spring if), the lie or strip lvir alongthe upper arm of the i s inspring. .JJV ioieierac [(1 i lblh. ll

or! H] it will be that the openin eve in the upper arm or the s; riiijexti ;iii'll a iris-- tance utside oi the jawsv that the and of thelit?" projers n r iinleithe j7l=ii ll iiii s sported, phat ii. tree toionic, the i" can be tipped out oi" iiursreiii pintles b the upward prisprino. butch tipni oi y is clip provided ive equal to .18 iiectod by achain or other iiexible means to the primary trap. The portion of therod intermediate the shoulder 341- and its connection with the primarytij'ap, inclines outwardly when the clip is in operative position, sothat a shifting of the primary trap which is movable, independent of theauxiliary trap, will turn the rod. on its shoulder as a fulcrum, andshift the clip out oi". engagement with the key. It will be readilyunderstood that the primary trap may be of any suitable type, such asthat shown in 8, 9 and 10, having a latch 36. adapted to be held aboreone ot the jaws l by a linger 37 on the pivotall mounted treadle 38.

In Figs. 11 and 19, the traps are so con structed as to be free to rockon the base of the auxiliary trap, the locking: devices and theirrelease devices being arranged in planes substai'itially paallel with.the jaws of the traps when closed. The primary trap is preferablyconstructed as shown in Figs. 1, 2', 3, and i, although otherconstructions, wherein the locking mechanism does not engage the middleportion of a may be used. The spring l9 for the auxiliary trap has oneend secured to the base 17 a of the latter, at a point adjacent to oneof the lugs 36 in which the jaws 18 are pivotally mounted. The oppositeend of the spring has an opening through which passes the other lug 36,said opening being of sufficient size to permit of the free movement ofthe spring to close the trap. A latch 38 has one end loosely connectedto the other end of the spring so that it can be sprung inwardly througha slot 39 in the base 17 when the spring is depressed. When thus swung,the latch will beat at a point intermediate its ends, against one end ofthe slot 39 as clearly shown in Fig. 12. The inner end of the latch issupported in locking position by a suitable trigger adapted to beshifted by the primary trap. In the construction shown, the end of thelatch is provided with a T-head, the ends of the head being adapted torest upon the opposite sides of a slot formed in the trigger 40. Thelatter is provided with lugs 4:1 projecting down through the slot 39 inthe base and having their outer edges notched for the reception of theedges of the slot, as shown in Fig. 141-. This construction permits oithe trigger being shifted to engage the end of the latch and beingtripped by the primary trap so as to bring an opening a2 in the triggerin line with the head of the latch and releasing the latch. The triggeris connected preferably by some flexible means with the primary trap, sothat amovement of the latter, as the closing of the jaws l or thejerking due to the struggle of the animal when caught by the primarytrap, although shown entirely above the auxiliary trap, will rest on thespring 19 of the auxiliary trap when the combined traps are set.

I claim herein as my invention:

1. A primary trap and an auxiliary trap, each of said traps havingpivotally mounted aws, and a spring for shifting the jaws to closedposition, and means for looking the springs of the primary and am:-iliary traps under tension, the primary trap being adapted to beinclosed by the jaws of the auxiliary trap, when held in open oroperative position, and movable independently of the auxiliary trap, incombination with means operative by an animal for releasing the springof the primary trap, and means for releasing the spring of the auxiliarytrap and rendered operative by movement resulting from the release of.the spring oi? the primary trap.

A primary trap and an auxiliary trap, each trap having pivotally mountedjaws and a spring for shifting said jaws to closed position, each traphaving independent means for locking its spring under tension, theprimary trap being movably connected to the base of the auxiliary trapin combination with means operative by an animal for releasing the lockof the primary trap, and means operative by the spring or jump of theprimary trap when its jaws are released ror releasing the spring of thean iliary trap. v

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

WALTER A. GIBBS. Witnesses:

FREDERICK H. FLETCHER, J. RICHARD Jones.

